Star Blizzard C2 Domains August 2022

Severity: high
Time window: 1d
Author: Microsoft Security Research
Source: github.com/Azure/Azure-Sentinel

'Identifies a match across various data feeds for domains related to an actor tracked by Microsoft as Star Blizzard.'

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Tactic	Techniques
Initial Access	`T1566` Phishing

Rule body kusto

id: 2149d9bb-8298-444c-8f99-f7bf0274dd05
name: Star Blizzard C2 Domains August 2022
description: |
  'Identifies a match across various data feeds for domains related to an actor tracked by Microsoft as Star Blizzard.'
severity: High
requiredDataConnectors:
  - connectorId: AzureMonitor(VMInsights)
    dataTypes:
      - VMConnection
  - connectorId: CiscoASA
    dataTypes:
      - CommonSecurityLog
  - connectorId: PaloAltoNetworks
    dataTypes:
      - CommonSecurityLog
  - connectorId: MicrosoftThreatProtection
    dataTypes:
      - DeviceNetworkEvents
      - EmailUrlInfo
      - EmailEvents
  - connectorId: AzureFirewall
    dataTypes:
      - AzureDiagnostics
queryFrequency: 1d
queryPeriod: 1d
triggerOperator: gt
triggerThreshold: 0
tactics:
  - InitialAccess
relevantTechniques:
  - T1566
tags:
  - Star Blizzard
  - Schema: ASIMDns
    SchemaVersion: 0.1.1
query: |
  let iocs = externaldata(DateAdded:string,IoC:string,Type:string) [@"https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Azure/Azure-Sentinel/master/Sample%20Data/Feeds/SEABORGIUMIOC.csv"] with (format="csv", ignoreFirstRecord=True);
  let DomainNames = (iocs | where Type =~ "domainname"| project IoC);
  (union isfuzzy=true
  (CommonSecurityLog
  | parse Message with * '(' DNSName ')' *
  | where DNSName in~ (DomainNames)
  | extend Account = SourceUserID, Computer = DeviceName, IPAddress =  DestinationIP
  ),
  (_Im_Dns (domain_has_any=DomainNames)
  | extend DNSName = DnsQuery
  | extend IPAddress =  SrcIpAddr, Computer = Dvc
  ),
  (_Im_WebSession (url_has_any=DomainNames)
  | extend DNSName = tostring(parse_url(Url)["Host"])
  | extend IPAddress =  SrcIpAddr, Computer = Dvc
  ),
  (VMConnection
  | parse RemoteDnsCanonicalNames with * '["' DNSName '"]' *
  | where DNSName  in~ (DomainNames)
  | extend IPAddress = RemoteIp
  ),
  (DeviceNetworkEvents
  | where RemoteUrl  has_any (DomainNames)
  | extend IPAddress = RemoteIP
  | extend Computer = DeviceName
  ),
  (EmailUrlInfo
  | where Url has_any (DomainNames)
  | join (EmailEvents
  | where EmailDirection == "Inbound" ) on NetworkMessageId
  | extend IPAddress = SenderIPv4
  | extend Account = RecipientEmailAddress
  ),
  (AzureDiagnostics
  | where ResourceType == "AZUREFIREWALLS"
  | where Category == "AzureFirewallApplicationRule"
  | parse msg_s with Protocol 'request from ' SourceHost ':' SourcePort 'to ' DestinationHost ':' DestinationPort '. Action:' Action
  | where isnotempty(DestinationHost)
  | where DestinationHost has_any (DomainNames)
  | extend DNSName = DestinationHost
  | extend IPAddress = SourceHost
  )
  )
  | extend AccountName = tostring(split(Account, "@")[0]), AccountUPNSuffix = tostring(split(Account, "@")[1])
  | extend HostName = tostring(split(Computer, ".")[0]), DomainIndex = toint(indexof(Computer, '.'))
  | extend HostNameDomain = iff(DomainIndex != -1, substring(Computer, DomainIndex + 1), Computer)
  | extend AccountName = tostring(split(Account, "@")[0]), AccountUPNSuffix = tostring(split(Account, "@")[1])
  | extend HostName = tostring(split(Computer, ".")[0]), DomainIndex = toint(indexof(Computer, '.'))
  | extend HostNameDomain = iff(DomainIndex != -1, substring(Computer, DomainIndex + 1), Computer)
entityMappings:
  - entityType: Account
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: FullName
        columnName: Account
      - identifier: Name
        columnName: AccountName
      - identifier: UPNSuffix
        columnName: AccountUPNSuffix
  - entityType: Host
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: FullName
        columnName: Computer
      - identifier: HostName
        columnName: HostName
      - identifier: NTDomain
        columnName: HostNameDomain
  - entityType: IP
    fieldMappings:
      - identifier: Address
        columnName: IPAddress
version: 1.0.5
kind: Scheduled
metadata:
    source:
        kind: Community
    author:
        name: Microsoft Security Research
    support:
        tier: Community
    categories:
        domains: [ "Security - Threat Intelligence" ]

Stages and Predicates

Let binding: `iocs`

let iocs = externaldata(DateAdded:string,IoC:string,Type:string) [@"https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Azure/Azure-Sentinel/master/Sample%20Data/Feeds/SEABORGIUMIOC.csv"] with (format="csv", ignoreFirstRecord=True);

Let binding: `DomainNames`

let DomainNames = (iocs | where Type =~ "domainname"| project IoC);

Derived from iocs.

union `isfuzzy=true` (7 sources)

Each leg below queries one source; the rule matches if any leg does. Sources: CommonSecurityLog, _Im_Dns, _Im_WebSession, VMConnection, DeviceNetworkEvents, EmailUrlInfo, AzureDiagnostics

Leg 1: `CommonSecurityLog`

CommonSecurityLog
| parse Message with * '(' DNSName ')' *
| where DNSName in~ (DomainNames)
| extend Account = SourceUserID, Computer = DeviceName, IPAddress =  DestinationIP

Leg 2: `_Im_Dns`

_Im_Dns (domain_has_any=DomainNames)
| extend DNSName = DnsQuery
| extend IPAddress =  SrcIpAddr, Computer = Dvc

Leg 3: `_Im_WebSession`

_Im_WebSession (url_has_any=DomainNames)
| extend DNSName = tostring(parse_url(Url)["Host"])
| extend IPAddress =  SrcIpAddr, Computer = Dvc

Leg 4: `VMConnection`

VMConnection
| parse RemoteDnsCanonicalNames with * '["' DNSName '"]' *
| where DNSName  in~ (DomainNames)
| extend IPAddress = RemoteIp

Leg 5: `DeviceNetworkEvents`

DeviceNetworkEvents
| where RemoteUrl  has_any (DomainNames)
| extend IPAddress = RemoteIP
| extend Computer = DeviceName

Leg 6: `EmailUrlInfo`

EmailUrlInfo
| where Url has_any (DomainNames)
| join (EmailEvents
| where EmailDirection == "Inbound" ) on NetworkMessageId
| extend IPAddress = SenderIPv4
| extend Account = RecipientEmailAddress

Leg 7: `AzureDiagnostics`

AzureDiagnostics
| where ResourceType == "AZUREFIREWALLS"
| where Category == "AzureFirewallApplicationRule"
| parse msg_s with Protocol 'request from ' SourceHost ':' SourcePort 'to ' DestinationHost ':' DestinationPort '. Action:' Action
| where isnotempty(DestinationHost)
| where DestinationHost has_any (DomainNames)
| extend DNSName = DestinationHost
| extend IPAddress = SourceHost

Applied to the combined result

| extend AccountName = tostring(split(Account, "@")[0]), AccountUPNSuffix = tostring(split(Account, "@")[1])
| extend HostName = tostring(split(Computer, ".")[0]), DomainIndex = toint(indexof(Computer, '.'))
| extend HostNameDomain = iff(DomainIndex != -1, substring(Computer, DomainIndex + 1), Computer)
| extend AccountName = tostring(split(Account, "@")[0]), AccountUPNSuffix = tostring(split(Account, "@")[1])
| extend HostName = tostring(split(Computer, ".")[0]), DomainIndex = toint(indexof(Computer, '.'))
| extend HostNameDomain = iff(DomainIndex != -1, substring(Computer, DomainIndex + 1), Computer)

Indicators

Each row is a field, operator, and value that the rule matches. The corpus column counts how many other rules in the catalog look for the same combination: high numbers point to widely-used, community-vetted indicators. Blank or 1 shows that the indicator is specific to this rule.

Field	Kind	Values
`Category`	eq	`AzureFirewallApplicationRule` transforms: `cased`
`DNSName`	in	`DomainNames`
`DestinationHost`	is_not_null	(no value, null check)
`DestinationHost`	match	`DomainNames`
`EmailDirection`	eq	`Inbound` transforms: `cased`
`RemoteUrl`	match	`DomainNames`
`ResourceType`	eq	`AZUREFIREWALLS` transforms: `cased`
`Url`	match	`DomainNames`

Output fields

Fields the rule emits when it matches. Chronicle authors list these in the outcome block; they appear on the detection and $risk_score drives alerting. Sentinel / Defender XDR rules build them up through project / summarize / extend stages. Sentinel maps these into alert fields via entityMappings and customDetails; Defender XDR custom detections surface them as alert fields directly.

Field	Source
`Account`	`extend`
`Computer`	`extend`
`IPAddress`	`extend`
`DNSName`	`extend`
`AccountName`	`extend`
`AccountUPNSuffix`	`extend`
`DomainIndex`	`extend`
`HostName`	`extend`
`HostNameDomain`	`extend`

`j` / `k`	Scroll down / up
`d` / `u`	Half-page down / up
`gg` / `G`	Top / bottom
`h` / `l`	History back / forward
`f`	Follow link (`Shift` = new tab)
`/`	Focus search
`?`	Toggle this help
`↑` / `↓`	Navigate search results
`Enter`	Open highlighted result
`Esc`	Close results / dialog

`type:`	`events` / `rules` / `providers`
`vendor:`	`sigma` / `elastic` / `splunk` / `kusto` / `chronicle` (vendor name alone also works: `sigma:`, `kql:`, `secops:`…)
`tactic:`	TA-id, slug, or name: `credential_access`, `TA0006`
`technique:`	technique or sub-technique ID: `T1003`, `T1003.001` (alias `tech:`)
`severity:`	`critical` / `high` / `medium` / `low` / `informational` (alias `sev:`)
`risk_score`	Numeric comparison on the Elastic risk score (0 to 100): `risk_score>50`, `risk_score<=20`, `risk_score=99` (alias `risk`; Elastic rules only)
`stages:`	Rules with exactly N pipeline stages
`correlation:`	`single_event` / `sequence` / `alternatives` / `alternatives_cross_log` / `all_required` / `correlated`
`with:`	Co-occurrence event-id; stacks (`with:4624 with:4769`) to require all, while a comma list in one occurrence (`with:4624,4769`) is an either-or group. Implies multi-event
`like:`	Structural neighbors of a rule slug (equivalents + subsumption stricter / broader): `like:comsvcs_lsass_memory_dump-splunk-sysmon`
`groupby:`	Entity-grouping substring match against `group_by_keys`: `groupby:user`, `groupby:host`
`uses:`	Rules whose predicate tree touches the field (any kind, any value): `uses:CommandLine`
`excludes:`	Rules with top-level `not()` clauses on the field (FP whitelists): `excludes:ParentImage`
`field:` / `value:`	Predicate search; narrows rule cards to those with a matching leaf and drives the indicator tier. Unquoted = substring, wildcards allowed (`value:mimikatz`)
`indicator:`	Shorthand for `field:F value:V`: `indicator:Image=*\powershell.exe`
`kind:`	Filter by predicate kind. Narrows rule cards to those carrying a matching predicate leaf (`vendor:elastic kind:cidr_match`) and drives the indicator tier: `contains` / `starts_with` / `ends_with` / `regex` / `cidr` / `eq` / `in` … (operator aliases `op:`/`match:`)
`has:` / `no:`	`sample`, `field`, `notes`, `refs`, `trace`, `thirdparty`, `rule`, `pattern`, `timewindow`, `threshold`, `newterms`, `sigma`/`elastic`/`splunk`/`kusto`/`chronicle`
`-op:val`	Exclude matches; works on most operators but not `type:`/`like:`/`has:`/`no:` (use `no:<flag>` to exclude a rule flag): `tactic:execution -vendor:splunk`. Standalone `-kind:`/`-field:`/`-value:` drop every rule carrying a matching predicate leaf (`type:rules -kind:is_null`)
`field:"…"` / `value:"…"`	Quoted value = anchored exact match (also allows spaces): `value:"net user"`
`a,b`	Comma = OR inside one operator (`vendor:sigma,elastic`, `severity:high,critical`); repeating a facet merges the same way. `field:`/`value:` never split (literal commas)
`vendors:` / `stage:`	Singular and plural spellings fold to the canonical operator and value: `tactics:` = `tactic:`, `type:event` = `type:events`, `correlation:sequences` = `correlation:sequence`, `has:thresholds` = `has:threshold`
`"quoted phrase"`	Exact-match a multi-word phrase (free text)

Star Blizzard C2 Domains August 2022

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Rule body kusto

Stages and Predicates

Let binding: `iocs`

Let binding: `DomainNames`

union `isfuzzy=true` (7 sources)

Leg 1: `CommonSecurityLog`

Leg 2: `_Im_Dns`

Leg 3: `_Im_WebSession`

Leg 4: `VMConnection`

Leg 5: `DeviceNetworkEvents`

Leg 6: `EmailUrlInfo`

Leg 7: `AzureDiagnostics`

Applied to the combined result

Indicators

Output fields

Keyboard shortcuts

Search operators

Star Blizzard C2 Domains August 2022

MITRE ATT&CK coverage

Rule body kusto

Stages and Predicates

Let binding: iocs

Let binding: DomainNames

union isfuzzy=true (7 sources)

Leg 1: CommonSecurityLog

Leg 2: _Im_Dns

Leg 3: _Im_WebSession

Leg 4: VMConnection

Leg 5: DeviceNetworkEvents

Leg 6: EmailUrlInfo

Leg 7: AzureDiagnostics

Applied to the combined result

Indicators

Output fields

Let binding: `iocs`

Let binding: `DomainNames`

union `isfuzzy=true` (7 sources)

Leg 1: `CommonSecurityLog`

Leg 2: `_Im_Dns`

Leg 3: `_Im_WebSession`

Leg 4: `VMConnection`

Leg 5: `DeviceNetworkEvents`

Leg 6: `EmailUrlInfo`

Leg 7: `AzureDiagnostics`